State Supreme Court

PA: Supreme Court rules 2nd Generation Registration non-punitive

·July 27, 2020
·39 Comments

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Opinion holding that Pennsylvania's second-generation sex offense registration statute is non-punitive and thus ex post facto challenges against it fail. Case Summary and Details

General News National

IL: High court upholds ban on sex offenders in parks

·June 25, 2020
·21 Comments

The state’s criminal code completely bars child sex offenders from entering public parks, despite an exception written into a similar but separate part of the law, the Illinois Supreme Court…

National

PA: Commonwealth v. Torsilieri

·June 23, 2020
·11 Comments

Nature of Case: Mr. Torsilieri — the Appellee in this case — was convicted of a sex offense and, as such, was required to register as a sex offender under…

National

UT: Supreme Court strikes down law allowing sex abuse lawsuits

·June 23, 2020
·2 Comments

The Utah Supreme Court has struck down a state law that allowed victims of sexual abuse to sue decades later, siding against a woman who alleged a former federal judge…

National

MI: AG files Amicus Brief Stating that SORA is Punitive and Unconstitutional

·February 2, 2020
·70 Comments

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an Amicus Brief on Jan 30 in People vs. Betts, Supreme Court No. 148981 . Introduction: There are dangerous sexual predators, to be sure,…

National

GA: Lawmakers seek sex predator tracking bill that’s constitutional

·January 28, 2020
·4 Comments

Georgia legislators aim to close a loophole that’s now preventing the state from using ankle monitors to track more than 400 sex offenders. Some House and Senate lawmakers are backing…

National

PA: Sex offender registry law in Pa. facing life-or-death test at Supreme Court

·December 5, 2019
·22 Comments

The landmark Pennsylvania law that for nearly a quarter of a century has required a public registry of sex offenders and community notification about their whereabouts is facing a life-or-death…

National

AK: Supreme Court declares law requiring all sex offenders to register unconstitutional

·June 14, 2019
·71 Comments

The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s sex offender registry law violates offenders’ right to due process. In an opinion handed down Friday, the court -- voting 3-2…

National

IA: Iowa Supreme Court rules requiring sex offenders to report social media presence is not a First Amendment violation

·April 5, 2019
·15 Comments

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that requiring sex offenders to disclose their social media identities and other digital information does not violate their free speech rights. Five of the seven…

National

MA: Mandatory GPS monitoring of some sex offenders violates privacy rights

·March 26, 2019
·11 Comments

Convicted sex offenders retain a constitutional right to privacy, and those rights are being violated by a state law mandating that everyone convicted of some sex crimes wear a GPS…

National

Denying Bail

·November 19, 2018
·10 Comments

The Arizona Supreme Court got it right: categorical denials of bail to persons charged with sexual assault violates the Constitution. Full Article Also see Is a Categorical Denial of Bail…

National

NC: High court weighs if tracking sex offenders reasonable

·November 9, 2018
·22 Comments

North Carolina's Supreme Court is re-evaluating whether forcing sex offenders to be perpetually tracked by GPS-linked devices, sometimes for the rest of their lives, is justified or a Constitution-violating unreasonable…

National

TX: Texas Supreme Court to hear sex offender law challenge

·October 8, 2018
·92 Comments

The Texas Supreme Court will consider a challenge to the state's retroactive sex offender laws that some say unfairly stack new punishments on those convicted in plea deals. Full Article…

National

AK: Court – Some sex offenders don’t have to register

·August 11, 2018
·11 Comments

In a decision that combined two cases pending before the court, justices said a strict reading of the 1994 Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act does not grant the Alaska Department…

National

MA: Court Recognizes Harm to Registrants, Rules in Their Favor

·August 6, 2018
·38 Comments

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Council, the state's supreme court, has ruled in favor of registrants who were trying either to terminate their duty to register or to change the tier…

National

PA: Sex predator law challenged by Cosby to get court review

·August 1, 2018
·11 Comments

Pennsylvania's highest court will consider whether the state can lawfully designate certain sex offenders as sexually violent predators, as it's seeking to do in the case of Bill Cosby. Cosby's…

National

Is it an unconstitutional taking of property without just compensation to require sex offenders to move away from their home if a school, etc is established near their home after their initial occupation?

·July 16, 2018
·13 Comments

In Mann v. Georgia Department of Corrections,653 S.E.2d 740 (Ga. 2007), the Georgia Supreme Court held that a state statute prohibiting registered sex offenders from living or working within 1,000…

National

IA: Supreme Court – registration for juvenile sex offenders is punishment

·June 25, 2018
·17 Comments

The boy's lawyers argued that the fact that registration as a sex offender was mandatory constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The court's majority opinion written by Chief Justice Mark Cady…